Students Enrolled After July 2022

How to successfully complete the certificate

If you enrolled in the certificate after July 1, 2022, you will find detailed information below for how to complete each step on the road toward successfully completing your certificate.

Please email Apryl at sustain.cert@ualberta.ca if you have any questions about these requirements.

Certificate in Sustainability courses can be completed at any time during your degree, including your final semester. To earn the certificate, you must complete ★12 credits of coursework:

There are some additional criteria, such as limits on transfer credits and overlap with other certificates, which are outlined in the Certificate requirements document.

Engineering students

Engineering students can take approved certificate courses by carefully selecting their program electives, complementary studies electives (CSE), and impact of technology on society (ITS) courses. Please consult the engineering course list to learn which courses are eligible for the certificate.

Augustana students

Augustana students will use the same approved course lists as the other students. See the course lists above for details.

Campus Saint-Jean students

Many French courses from Campus Saint-Jean are approved for the Certificate in Sustainability. See the course lists above for details.

Course exceptions

A course exception request may be possible for a special topics course, transfer course, or a new sustainability-related course that is not yet on the approved course list. If you would like to request a course exception, please email sustain.cert@ualberta.ca and include the course name, course outline (if available) and a brief description of why a course exception should be granted.

Certificate students must attend 12 hours of outside-the-classroom sustainability lectures offered by the Sustainability Council, the University of Alberta community and beyond. These lectures provide an opportunity to learn from various academic and non-academic perspectives that will broaden and deepen your understanding of sustainability.

Note: Only sustainability lectures that you attend after enrolling in the Certificate  in Sustainability can be counted toward your lecture requirement.

Click on the links below for lists of approved sustainability lectures:

Click the links below to track the sustainability lectures you attended. Please use the appropriate form for the year in which you attended the lecture:

Note: A new lecture document and lecture tracking form for the 2025-26 academic year will be available in late August or early September.

The integrative project is the capstone on your Certificate in Sustainability experience. Our graduates attest that this is one of the most rewarding parts of the certificate.

You can begin work on your integrative project at any time during your degree. We strongly recommend that you start the process five or six months prior to your graduation, although it is possible to finish all steps in one term with careful attention to detail.

Steps to complete an integrative project
  1. Think of an idea for your project.
  2. Review the integrative project requirements.
  3. Request a meeting with an advisor
  4. Complete the project proposal form
  5. Submit the project proposal to your advisor for authorization to proceed. Note that your advisor needs to approve your proposal before you start can working on your project. 
  6. Complete your project. Your project should involve 25-40 hours of work.
  7. Present your project at an approved venue (see the "Presentation" tab for options)
  8. Submit the project completion form

Note that SUST 410 - Directed Study in Sustainability can be used to satisfy the integrative project and presentation requirements for the certificate. For information on how to register in SUST 410, please email Apryl Brereton at apryl@ualberta.ca.

Preparing to meet an advisor

Prior to meeting with your advisor, please review the project proposal form and brainstorm ideas for your project in advance. Do not worry if you are not completely clear about what you want to do before your advisor meeting, however. Your advisor will discuss your idea with you and go over the proposal requirements.

Deadlines

Certificate deadlines depend on your expected graduation date. Note that if the deadline falls on a weekend, the deadline will be moved to the Friday before the weekend.

March convocation:

  • Please check again in late June 2025 for project deadlines.

Spring convocation:

  • Submit your project proposal: January 31st in your final year
  • Complete your project: March 15th in your final year
  • Present your project: April 30th in your final year

Fall convocation:

  • Submit your project proposal: June 30th in your final year
  • Complete your project: September 30th in your final year
  • Present your project: October 14th in your final year

Download Proposal Form

To complete the certificate, you must present your integrative project in public. This can be in person (e.g., poster presentation, seminar or workshop) or by remote (e.g., podcast, video or website).

*Important: Your project must be approved by your advisor before you can present it.

Once you have chosen your presentation venue, please email Apryl at sustain.cert@ualberta.ca to indicate your presentation plans.

Affiliated presentation venues

The affiliated presentation venues below are approved for the Certificate in Sustainability. To present at one of these venues, please seek the approval of your certificate advisor and then contact the event organizers listed below.

University Opportunities for Student Presentations

Foundations Summit for Sustainability & Leadership

TBD

Poster presentation opportunity on the North Campus. Check later for more information.

Bentley Lecture

TBD

Poster presentation opportunity. Check later for more information.

Festival of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (FURCA)

March 2026

To present at FURCA, you will need to submit an abstract to the Undergraduate Research Initiative prior to the deadline. See the FURCA website for instructions on submitting an abstract. Check later for more information.

SustainSU Research Night in Sustainability

TBD

Poster presentation opportunity on the North Campus. Email sustain.cert@ualberta.ca for more information.
Student Academic Conference

TBD

 Augustana Campus hosts this event at the end of the fall and winter terms. For more information, visit the website or email augsas@ualberta.ca.
Celebrate Sustainability Awards

April 2026

 Poster presentation opportunity on the North Campus. Email sustain.cert@ualberta.ca for more information.
 
 Independent presentation venues

You may choose an independent presentation venue in consultation with your advisor. For example, you could present at a conference hosted by your department or faculty or give a presentation to a local community group.

To give an independent presentation, please email sustain.cert@ualberta.ca to indicate your plans and bring the confirmation of presentation form for the event organizer to sign. After the event, the last step is to complete the project completion form (see "Completion" tab for details).

Social media presentations

You can choose to create a video, podcast, Instagram or LinkedIn presentation for your project presentation. See the following documents for detailed instructions on how to post and share your presentation:

Email sustain.cert@ualberta.ca if you would like to sign up for a social media presentation.

The last step of integrative project is to submit the project completion form and upload your project file. If you presented at an independent event, you will also need to upload the signed confirmation of presentation form.

You will also be asked if you would like to add your project to the online library of integrative projects, which may provide inspiration to future students.

Speak with a certificate advisor

When you are ready to start on your integrative project, you will be assigned an advisor to guide and approve your progress. To receive an advisor assignment, please complete this form.

Request an Advisor

Thank you to our current advisors!

Augustana Campus
  • Varghese Manaloor
Campus Saint-Jean
  • Natacha Louis
  • Sarah Pelletier
North Campus
  • Arlene Oak
  • Guillermo Hernandez Ramirez
Sustainability Lecture Tracking

Click on the links below for lists of approved sustainability lectures:

Use the forms below to track the sustainability lectures you attended:

A new lecture list and tracking form for 2025-26 will be available in late August or early September.